The City roundup video: Government sells off 40% stake in Eurostar, FTSE-100 executive pay averages £2.4m

The City roundup video: Government sells off 40% stake in Eurostar Ben Pruchnie | Getty Images

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Today, the government went public on the news that it was selling off its 40% stake in Eurostar.

The cross Channel train service is owned by taxpayers in the UK, France and Belgium.

Chancellor George Osborne wants to privatise £20bn-worth of taxpayer assets by 2020 and despite the criticism over the privatisation of the Royal Mail, the Government has chosen UBS as its adviser on the float. UBS was one of those banks criticised for selling Royal Mail too cheaply.

Elsewhere in the City, figures show FTSE-100 executives’ pay surged 21% last year to an average of £2.4m. Most of that, according to Incomes Data Services, was due to the rise in the stock market, which boosted directors’ bonuses.

A FTSE 100 chief executive now earns an average 120 times more than a full-time employee – in 2000, that figure was just 47 times.